


Will you stand and be brave or be broken?

by Kamemor



Series: Take My Hand [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Episode: v07e13 The Enemy of Trust, Fix-It, Gen, Oscar is also there but barely, Volume 7 (RWBY)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-12
Updated: 2020-02-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:00:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22673689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kamemor/pseuds/Kamemor
Summary: Rather than fight Clover, Qrow exits airship left, transformed into a bird, and heads straight to the Vault. But even if he gets to James in time, can he still reach him? (A V7E13 fix-it based on what I really hoped was going to happen when Qrow's first reaction was 'let's talk to James about this'.)
Relationships: Qrow Branwen & James Ironwood
Series: Take My Hand [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2019977
Comments: 10
Kudos: 90





	Will you stand and be brave or be broken?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [squireofgeekdom](https://archiveofourown.org/users/squireofgeekdom/gifts).



> Ironwood has been my favourite character since Volume 2, and I guess sometimes your favourite character turns out to be a very well-written (and horribly sad) tragedy. I'm hoping he'll eventually put in the work and redeem himself, but in the meantime here's a more hopeful what-if where this time he has a friend there to catch him as he falls.

Qrow flew hard, pulling up sharply from his dive when he hit the open air of the vault. James was dead ahead, his back to Qrow, stalking towards a figure that Qrow was dismayed to realise was Oscar. What did the kid think he was doing? Or was that Ozpin? Whoever it was, he was the last person James was going to listen to right now. 

"-am  _ done _ letting others’ inability to see the big picture get in the way of doing what's  _ right _ !" James was shouting when Qrow passed into earshot. He sounded angry, but Qrow knew that tone and knew that it was fuelled by fear and doubt and James's ironclad stubbornness that made him stick to a course of action no matter who doubted him. It was a state of mind that was far more dangerous than regular anger. “Robyn, the Council, this kingdom! Even you."

"Then you're as dangerous as she is, James," said Oscar, and if Qrow's throat had been capable of speech he would have screamed at the boy because that was the worst thing he could have possibly said. James went still, shoulders slumping slightly, and Qrow urged his wings to beat faster. He was still maybe fifty feet away. 

"James… is what my friends call me," said James, his tone suddenly flat, and Qrow's blood turned to ice. He knew what was about to happen. He wasn't going to reach them in time; James had the quickest draw of anyone he knew. But maybe, just maybe… "To you, it's General." 

_ click. _

James's gun jammed. Oscar flinched. In the half second of confusion, Qrow closed the last of the distance, swooped between them, and shifted back, bodily shielding Oscar from James. 

"What the  _ hell _ are you doing?" he rasped, out of breath from the desperate flight and almost dizzy from the effort of focusing his semblance like that. James stared at him with emotionless eyes, his gun still levelled. For the first time, Qrow registered that his left arm was bandaged and in a sling. 

"Are you standing in my way, too?" asked James. His voice wasn't cold, just… empty. Like his eyes. Everything warm, everything human, was locked away. It was all Qrow could do not to flinch. Instead, he held that empty gaze as best he could. 

"If I say yes are you going to try and shoot me, too?" he asked. Several long seconds passed. James didn't lower the gun. Qrow heard Oscar shift behind him, but didn't so much as glance away from James's face. 

"Don't make yourself my enemy, Qrow," said James. "I can't let you stop me." 

“So that’s what the kid did,” said Qrow. He wanted to scream at James for what he’d just tried to do, to shake him, to demand an explanation, but he couldn’t. “Makes sense.” It really didn’t, but disagreeing with James right now could be a death sentence, for him and for Oscar. He wasn’t sure if the trick with his Semblance would work again, so he had to be  _ very _ careful with what he said right now. "What makes you think  _ I _ wanna stop you?" That got a reaction. It was just a blink, but it was something. "I don't even know what you're trying to do. Or why." 

"But… Ruby's message." The slightest hint of uncertainty crept into James's voice. 

"Was garbled," lied Qrow. "All I heard was something about Salem, and you trying to use the staff. Then Clover tried to arrest me." 

"Apparently he failed." 

"Yeah, turns out he didn't know about the bird thing," said Qrow, aiming for casual. "Shoulda seen the look on his face. So, what is it that got Ruby so freaked out?" He kept his tone conversational despite the pounding of his heart. It was risky, bluffing to James's face like this, but faking ignorance meant that maybe he would explain himself. If there even was an explanation for trying to shoot Oscar.  _ Gods _ , James, what the hell?

"Salem is on her way here with an army," said James, his teeth gritted, emotion slowly returning to his voice in the form of angry panic. "The perimeter sensors were shut down in all the chaos, so for all we know, she's right on our doorstep!" James's fist clenched around his gun, his hand shaking. "One of her people got into  _ my _ office and left the Black Queen symbol behind. We got Watts and Callows, but for all we know that's part of the plan! It's Beacon all over again…" James's voice caught and then trailed off. He was shaking harder now.

"James, I -" Qrow started, taking a step forward but freezing when James brought his gun level again. 

"I have to raise the city!" he said, almost distractedly, not quite looking at Qrow despite the levelled gun. "It's the only way." 

"The only way that what?" 

"That _ anyone _ survives this!" James’s voice rose in a ragged shout. "I'm not going to lose Atlas the way we lost Beacon! If Atlas falls, if she gets the Relics, then the  _ world _ is next and Salem  _ wins _ !"

"What about Mantle?" asked Qrow, and James practically snarled. 

" _ Mantle! _ Everyone's always asking about Mantle! Well, I  _ tried _ to save Mantle! I tried, and in the process I might have doomed us all! How do I know filling Atlas with Mantle refugees wasn't part of her plan? How do I know I haven't been playing into her hands this  _ whole time _ ?!" James was breathing heavily, his eyes wide and staring at nothing. Qrow recognised a panic attack when he saw one. Oh, James… He was in no state to be making major decisions, but the idiocy of the Atlas military system meant that he was the only one who could. Not for the first time, Qrow cursed the whole damn kingdom for what it did to its people. 

"I don't have an answer for you, James," said Qrow, as calmly and gently as he could manage in the face of his own mounting terror. If Salem really was on their doorstep they didn't have  _ time  _ for this… "I wish I did. Sometimes there are no good answers." 

"I have an answer," said James, sharply. "A solution." 

"Raising the city? Cutting and running?" He winced as he said it. Too confrontational, tone it down, he's still pointing a gun at you… 

"Living to fight another day!" The almost-snarl was back.

"So those are the only options? Stay and die or run and live?" Qrow asked. He was beginning to understand now. To James, this was a binary choice. Stay and fight a battle he couldn't win, or run now and save who he could. No wonder he was dead set on running. To someone like James, someone who had to make decisions for lives that weren't his own, there was no choice there.

"Yes! Ruby refused to understand that. I had to… I couldn't let her stand in my way!" 

"The kids are determined to go out fighting, huh?" asked Qrow. Good for them. He hadn't come via the tower so he didn't know what had happened to Ruby and Yang and their friends, but he suspected they'd escaped arrest just like he had. "Course they are, they're kids. They don't know what it's like to have a kingdom depending on them." 

"Neither do you," James shot back. "Don't try and lecture me, Qrow, not about responsibility. I can't take that from you." Qrow flinched. That hurt. But he pushed on. 

"I'm not trying to lecture you. I'm trying to understand what you're planning to do. I wanna have your back, James." James blinked, desperate hope showing through cracks in the angry bleakness of his expression.

"You do?" he asked, his voice suddenly small. 

"I'm your  _ friend," _ said Qrow, risking taking a step forward. "I can see how much you're hurting right now. Let me help." James shook his head rapidly, took a step back. 

"This isn't about me!" he said, his voice loud and ragged again. "The things I have to do…" He trailed off, and Qrow's blood ran cold again. "Sacrifices have to be made." James said that last part to the floor, not looking Qrow in the eye. 

"What sacrifices?" Qrow asked. "James,  _ what sacrifices _ ?" he asked again when he got no answer. He was starting to panic now. He'd never seen James like this before, not this bad. It scared him. "Was Oscar one of your sacrifices? Is  _ that _ why I just found you pointing a gun at him?" The kid was still behind Qrow, wisely keeping quiet. 

"He was standing in my way," said James, quietly. "One life versus thousands. Millions. There's no choice." 

"Are you sure you're not convincing yourself?" asked Qrow, starting not to care if he got confrontational. James's expression went tight, angry. 

"Don't pretend like you understand me, Qrow. You have no idea the things I've had to do tonight." Qrow's eyes flickered to his bandaged arm. What was the story there? 

"I think I can guess," said Qrow. "You ordered Winter to claim the Maiden power, didn't you? How else would you get the Staff?" James nodded, tightly. "The fact that you ordered her to murder someone doesn't  _ bother you?"  _

"Fria knew what might eventually be asked of her," said James, voice as tight as his nod. "So did Winter. One life for the good of Atlas…" 

"Sounds like all those 'one lives' are piling up," said Qrow, trying not to let his horror show on his face. "When does it stop being justifiable?" 

"When Atlas is safe!" 

"Will it ever be safe? She's always gonna be out there, James! This path you're on isn't gonna end. You're going to have to make compromise after compromise and one day you're not even gonna recognise yourself." 

"You sound like  _ him _ ," snarled James, and Qrow didn't have to ask who he meant. 

"Maybe I do," said Qrow. "You gonna shoot me for saying things you don't wanna hear, too?" Qrow was getting desperate now. Nothing he was saying seemed to be getting through. Honestly, he didn't even know what he was trying to achieve. He couldn't see a way out of this. Salem was coming and if they stood their ground they'd probably all die. James might be right that running was the only solution. But... he also might be wrong. 

Qrow didn't want to run. He didn't want to abandon Mantle. They'd lost enough to Salem already, and the idea of abandoning another city… He couldn't live with that. He wanted to fight, he wanted to save people, save  _ everyone.  _ Surely there was a way. There had to be. 

But James couldn't see it. He'd convinced himself that the only two options were run or die. That the only way to win was to make sacrifices. That the things he'd done and planned to do were justifiable because it was the only way. It was a slippery slope, that kind of thinking. The sort of slope people lost themselves on. Qrow couldn't lose James, not like that.

James was still pointing the gun at him, unable to answer his challenge. Qrow took a step closer, hands out to his sides. He'd had to leave Harbinger in the airship when he’d made his escape, so he was unarmed.

"Are you really going to shoot me?" he asked again. James's gun hand wobbled, but he didn't lower it. Qrow took another step forward. Oh, to hell with it. He was fed up with staring down that barrel. 

Quick as a flash, he lunged for the gun, batting it down with one hand and trying to grab James's wrist with the other. But James was fast, always had been, and he fought dirty in a corner. His left elbow collided with Qrow's temple, the rigid arm brace adding to the force of the blow. Qrow was sent spinning, but recovered quickly and went for James's legs, tackling him to the floor. James cried out in pain as Qrow pinned his injured arm against his chest, but Qrow didn't let up. He went for James's gun hand, trying to grapple the pistol off of him or at least knock it out of his hand. James held on tight and tried to knee Qrow in the groin, but he rolled free before the blow connected.

James tried to get back upright, but Qrow dove once again for his right hand, slamming it repeatedly against the floor until his grip loosened. He wrenched the gun out of his hand and flung it away towards the middle of the platform. 

"I don't want to fight you!" he rasped, but James had pulled his left arm out of the sling and Qrow barely managed to dodge the incoming punch. "Stop it! Your arm - you're gonna hurt yourself!" But James wasn't listening to reason. He was angry, he was scared, and Qrow had just given him someone to lash out at. He wrenched his right arm free of Qrow's grip and rolled back to his feet, both hands balled into fists and the strap of his sling hanging loose across his chest. His eyes were wide, his expression almost unhinged, and it was the second time in a matter of minutes that Qrow had been scared of him. 

James advanced and Qrow went on the defensive, giving ground and parrying blows without returning them. 

"Fight back!" snarled James, as Qrow backed up even further, letting himself be driven across the platform. 

"No! I didn't come here to fight you, you idiot!" 

"No, you just came here to stop me from doing what  _ needs _ to be  _ done _ !" 

"If what needs to be done is shooting your friends, then yeah, maybe I did! You need someone to tell you when you're going too far!" 

"I'll go as far as I have to to beat her! That's the  _ only _ thing that matters!" 

Qrow's foot knocked against something that moved slightly, and too late he realised that it had been a bad idea to let James push him back this far. Before he could do anything about it, James took advantage of the brief moment of distraction and tackled him to the ground, reclaiming his fallen gun in the scuffle. 

Now Qrow was on his back on the ground with James kneeling over him, gun levelled, and they were right back where they started. James was breathing hard, more from anger than exertion. 

"Oh, come on, James!" exclaimed Qrow. "You didn't shoot me before, are you really gonna do it now? What good will it do? Who will it help? It's damn well not gonna help you!" James just stared at him, eyes wide, nostrils flaring, gun barely wavering. "Or maybe you're too far gone to care. You tried to shoot a  _ child _ , James! I guess if you can do that you can do anything."

James's hands started shaking again. 

"Ozpin…" 

"Isn't here!" Qrow cut across him. "He checked out and left us when we found out his secrets. Oscar isn't him, James. He's a kid, just like Ruby, just like Yang. Just like I was when Oz pulled me into all of this. Ozpin is using him, too. We gave our lives to him? Well, Oscar's given him his soul and he didn't even get a choice! He's not your enemy."

"He… he called me dangerous…" James's voice wobbled. 

"And shooting him was supposed to prove him wrong?" 

"I…" 

"You're  _ better _ than this, James!" Qrow stared him right in the face, willing his words to get through. "This is your fear talking, and don't even try and deny it. You think I don't know you're seeing the Fall of Beacon everywhere you look? That that chess piece isn't straight out of your nightmares? This is your fear and trauma running the show and you can't let it take you!" James shook his head. 

"I'm not -" 

"It's okay to be scared! Hell, I'm terrified! But this is what she does! She uses our fear against us. We have to be better than this. I  _ know  _ you're better than this." Qrow was almost pleading now. James stared at him along the barrel of his gun, and it was a long moment before he spoke.

"What if I'm not?" he whispered, so quietly that Qrow barely heard him. "The things I've done… The things I need to do… What if none of them are enough? What if she still wins?" 

"If you let your fear make you a monster, she does," said Qrow. "It happened to Leo, James, and now it's happening to you. You really think another monster is what your people need right now?" James flinched, but the shaking in his hands lessened a little and his grip tightened on his gun. 

"What if it is?" he asked, his voice still low. "Ozpin couldn't do what was necessary, and look what happened to Beacon!" He shook his head, not looking Qrow in the eyes. "If history makes me a -" he gritted his teeth "- a monster, but Atlas survives? If Salem is stopped? I'll gladly be a monster! How-" his voice broke, halfway to a sob "- how could I be anything else if  _ that's  _ what it takes?" 

Qrow's heart broke, hearing him say that. Of course that was how James thought. He'd never been able to put his own needs first, the whole time Qrow had known him. It made him a crappy politician because he thought caring about his public image was selfish, and it was going to destroy him now because he'd convinced himself that his own morality was an acceptable casualty if it let him save Atlas.

"You don't have to destroy yourself to save the world, James," said Qrow, gently. "Call me selfish, but I'm not gonna let you." 

"It doesn't matter what happens to me!" James's eyes were damp now, his voice choked. 

"It does," said Qrow. "No, I mean it! You think the person you're trying to become is gonna be good for Atlas? For Remnant? The world needs you, James, it needs your big stupid heart and your stubborn convictions. What it doesn't need is another tyrant, another asshole who does the correct thing and convinces himself that it's ‘right’! If you shoot me now, that's who you become. And honestly? I wish you would, if that's the plan. I'm not gonna watch you be that man." James flinched. But he still didn't lower the gun. Still didn't shoot.

Qrow had had enough. "Dammit, James, put the gun down!" he yelled. "Or just shoot me!" In one quick movement, he sat up and pulled the muzzle of the gun against his chest. "Which is it gonna be?" Caught off guard by the sudden rush of movement, James toppled backwards until he was sitting on the floor, letting go of the gun as he fell. Qrow flung it away for a second time and heard it clatter against the metal of the platform. "That's better," he said, fighting to keep his voice level despite the pounding in his chest. "Maybe now we can talk about this like the adults that we supposedly are." 

James brought both hands up to hide his face. It was a very vulnerable looking gesture, one Qrow had seen on him a lot lately. James hid in his hands when he couldn’t face what he was seeing. Or being seen.

"I don't want to talk, Qrow," he said, voice soft and muffled. "I can't. If I stop, if we talk, I'll…" 

"Have second thoughts?" asked Qrow. He shifted position so that he was kneeling in front of James. "That's not a bad thing! Gods, James, you get so locked into one course of action that you stop listening to anyone but yourself." James glanced up at him through his fingers. 

"Because no one else is willing to do what's necessary." 

"What  _ you  _ think is necessary." Qrow risked putting his hands on James's shoulders and gently shaking him. "Are you  _ sure _ you're really doing the necessary thing? Or are you clinging to the first solution you thought of because you're too scared to try anything else?" James sniffed, hard, and scrubbed a hand across his eyes. 

"What else am I supposed to do?" he asked, and he sounded so small and lost that it broke Qrow's heart all over again. 

"Lean on your friends," said Qrow, squeezing both his shoulders even though there was no give in the metal one. "Let us help. You're not alone, James. You never were." 

"What friends?" said James, quietly, and Qrow snorted. 

"Don't be an idiot," he said. "You got me, and you might have pissed 'em off tonight but I'll bet the kids still like you. Ruby doesn't give up on people. And I punched Oscar in the face once and he still puts up with me." Qrow glanced over James's shoulder at where Oscar was still standing, sensibly keeping far away from the confrontation. The kid gave him an awkward thumbs-up and a worried smile. "You'd be surprised how much they're willing to forgive." 

"Really?" James sounded like he didn't believe him, but desperately wanted to. 

"Yeah, but only if you  _ fix this _ . Cancel the arrest warrants, call everyone down here, and we can talk. Twenty-odd people can find a third option, I promise you." 

"What if there is no third option? What if this is the only way?" asked James, still speaking through his hands, still sounding so very lost. 

"Then we'll face that together," said Qrow, giving him another gentle shake. "You think you can do things better than Ozpin? You're probably right. But you’ve gotta do the bare minimum that he did, and listen to people who disagree with you. Why do you think he kept you around? You might not think he did, but Oz listened to you, and sometimes you really did change his mind."

James sniffed again and lowered his hands from his face. His eyes were very red, and a single tear rolled down his cheek and disappeared into his beard. 

"I'm scared, Qrow," he admitted, voice very small. "She's coming and she's bringing an army and she's beaten me before. I don't think we can win this, not without..." He couldn't say the word this time, but Qrow knew what it would be. Sacrifices. Qrow sighed. 

"I'm scared too," he said. "But we can't give up. There's a way out of this without losing who we are. There has to be. We've just gotta trust that the kids will help us find it." James stared at him for a long moment, and Qrow willed him to finally listen. He was out of tricks, out of arguments. If James still refused to back down and rethink, Qrow didn’t know what he could do. 

After what felt like an eternity, James nodded and relief flooded through him. Wincing as he reached into a pocket with his bandaged hand, James pulled out his Scroll, unlocked it and passed it over to Qrow. 

"Ruby will listen if it comes from you," he said, his voice still quiet but stronger now. He didn’t sound lost anymore.

"Thank you," said Qrow. "You're doing the right thing, James." And, for emphasis and also because he needed it in that moment as much as James did, he hugged him. 

They were still clinging together when Qrow used James's Scroll to call Ruby. And when she answered. And when maybe, just maybe, there started to be a chance that things would be okay.


End file.
